Stage Restaurant’s Egg, Cheese, and Sausage on a Roll, One of Our 100 Favorite Dishes

June 19, 2013

Later this year, we’ll pen our Best of NYC issue, our annual love letter to what’s great in this town. When that paper hits the streets, you’ll find our picks for the very best this city has to offer when it comes to dozens of cuisines, restaurants, dishes and drinks. Until then, you can get a taste of our contenders as we count down, in no particular order, our 100 favorite dishes from around the boroughs, a list of laudable eats worth tracking down right now.

We know, we know. Egg and cheese on a roll is more like a corner deli thing, the mediocre breakfast that you buy from a spot you’ve chosen more based on proximity to your apartment or on the general agreeableness of the owner than on how well the place actually makes the sandwich. But trust us when we say that Stage Restaurant offers good reason to go out of your way for this ubiquitous morning staple. The Ukrainian diner is tucked into a hallway next to the Orpheum Theater, where Stomp has been running for going on 20 years, and it’s so narrow that your personal space feels invaded if the crowd gets even two rows deep. Grab a stool and watch the guys behind the line as they griddle sausages, bacon, and eggs plus the occasional Ukrainian specialty. None are as good as the breakfast sammie. The reason this roll stands apart comes down to the details: Two eggs go on the flat top, where they’re lightly scrambled (chopped might be a better visual) and hit with a liberal dash of salt and black pepper. When they’re close to crispy around the edges, the cook folds in a sheet of orange American cheese, which oozes pleasantly out of the cracks. The mess goes on a sponge-y roll swiped with a bit of salted butter; juicy piquant sausage links, which are halved lengthwise and laid out flat, finish the tight, harmonious stack. Beware the hot grease drippings when you eat if you’re wearing something nice.